rejoice, in fact,
over the quiet self-complacence of the toaster.

In the country, a dog is as free as a roach

“The figure should be natural and relaxed,”
   asserted Mucha to his drawing class,

Never was there a time when I did not lead him,
when I did not feel his hand upon my shoulder.

“I couldn’t think of taking
anything that was whole.”

One morning I awoke
to a dead pigeon on the roof
of the building next to mine,

Afterwards I said the palm tree was like a snake
coiling around the delicate outdoor bannister
but Janette said like a swan courting a swan.

So much about the place was lies.
The marble walls that were wood.
The stone grillwork, like coral.

“Where is he—you know, the . . . one?”
my ninety-year-old friend asked
and I knew that she meant her son—

The door. If you pull it it’s heavy; if you
push it it’s hard.